Book Review: Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension
When I was younger,the way in which books were connected to visual media, was definitely different.
Some shows like The Care Bears, Transformers, and even Sesame Street, would often have books released, that would feature original story ideas, or stories taken from a television series, and condensed down into book form.
However, in this day-and-age, many companies in the entertainment business, have advanced well beyond this simplicity, and we’ve seen print media tie-ins, take on a whole new life of their own.
Want to know more about the story behind the latest Transformers movie? There’s probably a prequel comic mini-series, to explain where some of the new characters came from.
Just how did The First Order and The Resistance come to be the new Empire and Rebellion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? There’s several hardcover novels to fill in those blanks.
Of course, there are also other methods of reaching out to the viewers of a series, via the printed page.
DisneyXD’s series Gravity Falls, is one such example. The last couple years have seen book tie-ins for Falls, including a ‘choose your own adventure’ storybook, and a real-world representation of the show’s third journal, that Dipper Pines carried around with him through both seasons of the show!
When it comes to the DisneyXD series Star vs the Forces of Evil, we’ve had some of the episodes collected into Cinestory comic books, and seen the expansion of the show, through the currently-running, 8-part original comic series, by Joe Books.
Though in regards to a tie-in that aims to have some fun with it’s fans, that seems to be what has been created, with Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension.
__________
The book is structured in a scrapbook-style format, with Star Butterfly being the main commentator, along with some additional information from her best friends Marco Diaz, and Flying Princess Pony Head.
The concept is that one day, out of sheer boredom, the three decide to put together the book, to chronicle a number of things in regards to the show’s multiverse, as well as what Star has learned while living on Earth.
Each character uses their own pen for writing, with their own specific ink color (though how Pony Head can write so well without hands, is left to our imagination!).
I will admit that in some later chapters of the book, I got a little confused, when Star Butterfly would take over writing but use rainbow-colored inks, which made me wonder if maybe Marco was contributing to the items. Maybe this was the writers trying to make the book as wacky and wild as the show, but I can’t say for certain.
For those who are fans of the show, you’ll find plenty of additional information about certain dimensions, and…the last names and distinctions of several characters. This to me, is where most of the fun in the book lies, as a few doors are thrown open with this additional information.
We also get our trio of writers, interviewing their friends (and friend-enemies?), to get their advice on a few things, as well as some commentary on how they feel about some people they know.
Like the title says, we also get to learn more about various dimensions, including just where Star’s ex-boyfriend Tom, and Pony Head reside. Personally, I had hoped maybe we’d get some more dimensions than most of what we’ve seen, but at least we get an identification for a few dimensions that had no names in the television series.
Also of note, is additional information on Pony Head’s family tree (she is one of 13 sisters!), as well as more information about The Grandma Room, glimpsed briefly in the Season 2 segment, Into the Wand. There’s definitely some revelations to be had, but probably not enough to totally blow the doors off our curiosity (minor spoiler: we’re still no closer to knowing more about Queen Eclipsa!).
One section I was really eager to get through, was one that delved into some pages of Star’s magic instruction book, with notes by Glossaryck of Terms.
Unfortunately, my hopes to finally understand the ancient language we’ve seen in the book, failed to yield anything concrete.
However, we get a small understanding regarding spells, how some can be altered, and how Star comes up with several of the ones she recites in the series.
I will admit that when it comes to the writing, I found the style of characterization for Pony Head, to be a bit too contrasted from her Season 2 role.
Sure, she’s been somewhat abrasive in Season 2, but it feels like the writers of the show toned her down (we’ve even seen that Marco after awhile, is better able to put up with her!). The writers try to create some back-and-forth banter with Pony Head claiming she is Star’s ‘bestie,’ but it just feel a little ‘flat’ to me.
There are also some activity pages, including a cut-out diagram to design your own pair of dimensional scissors, and a page to draw what dimension the reader wold like to visit.
A tri-fold poster is also included in the back of the book. One side of it has the opening character shot from the second season’s intro, AND, if you flip it over, you get a map of the Kingdom of Mewni!
And, for those with wicked culinary skills, there is a recipe for how to make “Marco’s Super Awesome Nachos!” I’m not much good in the kitchen, but I have considered trying to follow Marco’s recipe and see if I can pull this off.
This book was originally set to be released in early January, but was pushed back by two months.
Going over it’s contents, I could see why it happened. Several chapters actually acknowledge some episodes and storylines, that hadn’t been released yet (maybe the ‘Starbomb’ of episodes in February, was a way to get them all out before the book release?). Plus, I believe the writers have included a few small tidbits, about what happened after the conclusion of Season 2 (sorry folks, no spoilers!).
What I’ve really enjoyed about some of the expanded universe material for Star vs the Forces of Evil, is that almost all original, ancillary story materials, has had involvement by people who have also worked on the show! I really like that kind of dynamic, and it makes me pretty sure that those working on these materials, have a good idea of the show’s continuity, as well as how certain things are to be portrayed.
It should also be noted, that a few of the listed persons who worked on this book, also had illustration duties on the Svtfoe comic series that is currently out!
Overall, Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension, is a fun book that has been made by the show’s crew, for the fans, as well as any who are weird or crazy enough to pick it up, and want to find out more a bout this show! Definitely recommended reading material for all fans of the series.
__________
Tags: Amber Benson, Cindy Plourde, Daron Nefcy, Devin Taylor, Disney Press, DisneyXD, Dominic Bisignano, Flying Princess Ponyhead, Marco Diaz, Moon Butterfly, Princess Pony Head, River Johansen, Star and Marci's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension, Star Butterfly, Star Vs The Forces of Evil, SvtFOE, Toffee, Walt Disney Studios
About MWH1980
Growing up in the state of Iowa, one would assume I'd be enamored with pigs and corn. Well, I wasn't. Instead, I grew fascinated by many things that were entertainment-related. Things like movies, animation, toys, books, and many more kept my attention. This blog I hope to use to express myself regarding my varied obsessions. (P.S. There's no Photoshop involved in that Gravatar-I really am holding an Oscar)3 responses to “Book Review: Star and Marco’s Guide to Mastering Every Dimension”
Leave a comment Cancel reply
Recent Posts
Archives
- December 2023
- October 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- November 2021
- October 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- March 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
Categories
- A Peanuts Prospectus
- An Animated Dissection
- Audio Commentary Commentation
- Batman: The Animated Series
- Book Reviews
- Collectibles Review
- Comic Reviews
- DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews
- Episode Review
- Films that deserve a more dignified home video release
- Game Reviews
- Great Films You've Never Seen
- iPad App Reviews
- Journeys Through Life
- Movie Musings
- Movie Reviews
- Music Reviews
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
- Retro Recaps
- Star vs The Forces of Evil
- The Owl House
- The Terrible 2's
- The Twilight Zone
- Theatrical Review
- Toy Reviews
- Uncategorized
This is such an awesome review! I am really enjoying the book so far. It’s fun, entertaining, and gives us a nice sprinkle of insight into mythos of the series. I agree with your point about Ponyhead’s comments feeling flat (and kind of forced), but I like how the guide is written from the characters’ perspective. It’s obvious that the writers really enjoyed putting this book together, and it ties in wonderfully with the series.
P.S. I stumbled upon your article on Svtfoe Easter eggs, and have been keeping up with your blog ever since. Keep up the awesome work!
LikeLike
Thank you for the compliments, and knowing that I have people reading my articles.
I rarely get compliments, so it can be difficult to tell if anyone is even reading what I post up.
Mainly I focused on Svtfoe, because it seemed there were very few people covering the series. The fun thing is if you look for images of the show on Google images, quite a number of them are related to imagery from my reviews.
I plan to have some more ‘animated dissections’ and review items coming up soon for the series.
LikeLike
Star Vs. definitely plays with imagery a lot. It probably has to do with the series being story-board driven, so the visuals tell a deeper story than the actual dialogue (which is also great!).
And it’s awesome that you’ll be coming out with more reviews. I look forward to reading them, and will definitely keep up with your blog (it’s one of my pinned tabs at the moment) 🤓
LikeLike